30 Day Blog Challenge- Day 17

Today's topic is 'Things You're Looking Forward To.'

I'm looking forward to THIS place....

Cannot wait to be part of the hustle and bustle of the city, having nothing to worry about for 3 days, enjoying every moment of this vacation and just taking it all in. Have no doubt, I'll be like the paparazzi with my camera snapping all kinds of photos! Be prepared :)


The girls have requested matching shirts from me on this trip, my husband has requested a knock off pair of Oakley's, I'll see what I can do!

Some other things I'm looking forward to...

2 of my very best friends having their sweet babies in the next few months. Cannot wait to meet baby Delaney and baby Mason! YAY!

The upcoming holiday's. I'm obsessed with decorating for Christmas, so I think I'm looking forward to that part the most!

Re-doing our family room. Its still on my list of things to do, hopefully SOON I'll have time!

Taking the girls to Trick or Treat Sunday night and taking LOTS of photos of them in their costumes.

A holiday open house that I am participating in as a vendor. It was a success last year, so I'm really looking forward to this year, as my business has really grown!

Just being happy with my family and not taking things for granted!

Hope you all have a WONDERFUL rest of your week. Stay tuned for one of my favorite blogging pals Aly's guest post. You'll be entertained no doubt! Thanks again Al :)

Top 2 Tuesday- Halloween/Fall Ideas

This week over at Taylor's blog for Top 2 Tuesday, the topic is your favorite Halloween/fall ideas.

I LOVE these painted pumpkins, they are to die for. I MUST do this next year!!

This entry way is gorgeous as well. I love how they painted the trees on the pumpkins. Another wonderful idea for next year!

This year I got a hay bale and some pumpkins and mums and put them out front. It looks really good, I just haven't snapped any photos of it. I'm hoping they hold on for a little while longer to get us into fall a little more.

Tomorrow is my big trip to NEW YORK! I could not be MORE excited. I have been dealing with Addaline and a nasty 24 hour stomach bug last night/today. She finally stopped throwing up in the middle of the night thankfully. Today she was a little crabby/tired, which I totally expected. I'm hoping tomorrow she can get a full day of rest and be back to her normal self! I am praying that no one else in the house gets the bug, that we can all fight it off!

I'm going to try to set up my blog posts for the next few days, and my friend Aly has offered to post them for me so I can keep up with the 30 Day Challenge. Say a little prayer for me tomorrow if you think of it, for safe travels!!

And because I LOVE these photos, here ya go! You're welcome :)

Addaline loving her pony ride


My niece Kamryn riding a pony

Miscellany Monday

one} I leave for New York Wednesday, have I mentioned out excited I am to visit this fab place I've heard so much about?!

two} Today is my mom AND my niece's birthday! Shout out to my mom Pam, and my cutie patootie niece Kamryn. Love both you girls :)

three} I won't see Gerrad until Saturday when he picks us up from the airport, that makes me a little sad :(

four} We have parent/teacher conferences Thursday evening for Macie, I will be in NYC. My control freak nature is totally taking over and I'm a bit paranoid about missing them.

five} Gerrad has become quite the 'meat smoking' master. Thanks to his parents for giving us their old smoker. Last night we had the most DELISH pork tenderloin, YUM! I have started referring to Gerrad as Bobby Flay :)

six} I keep feeling the urge to go shopping before this trip, but then I have to stop and remind myself that I should just save my $ and shop in New York!

seven} Gerrad and I watched 'Swamp People' for the first time ever last night... have you seen this show? OH EM GEE people! I CANNOT even fathom some of the things that I saw on that show. HOLY COW! I can't even get into it, we'll be here all day!

Hope you all have a wonderful Monday!!

P.S. Enjoy this little convo between Gerrad and I via facebook- His comment made me CRACK up laughing about the alligators, brought me right back to the class of people on 'Swamp People.'

Molly Hall Gerrad Hall: FYI (I know how much you love when I say that) I'm gonna miss you this week! Let's try to keep the children dressed appropriately if we're going in public, I do have a reputation of little diva stylist to uphold ya know ;) Love ya!


Gerrad Hall: Hey, don't break your arm patting yourself on the back! I will make sure the kids are dressed and faces are clean before we go in public! You just focus on getting out of that bootleg van parked in the back alley! And the show last night did prove there are gators in the sewers of NYC so don't go down there either! Other than that...have fun! Love you!

Molly Hall: I am cracking up! There will be no gator hunting, and if I do, I'll make sure to talk like those classy dudes from 'Swamp People' and bring my 22 rifle. If I get killed trying to snag you a pair of Oakley sunglasses, give my inheritance to the kids ;)

30 Day Blog Challenge- Day 15

The topic for today's challenge is 'Bible Verse.'


This is one of my favorites by far...

2.Jer 29:11: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Its comforting to know that the plans for our life are already laid out. I constantly have to remind myself of that as well, its an internal struggle for this little control freak ;)

30 Day Blog Challenge- Day 12

Today's topic on the blog challenge is 'Things You Believe.'

I believe in God the Father

I believe that God gave me 2 daughters, as a payback for my teen years

I believe that a baby's sweet giggle can turn any one's day around

I believe that the obstacles life throws us, makes us stronger people

I believe that in some situations, its better to laugh, or you might cry

I believe that Diet Dr Pepper is from Heaven

I believe that the world would be a happier place if we could decorate for Christmas year round

Here are a few quotes about belief that I LOVE...


I believe that a simple and unassuming manner of life is best for everyone, best both for the body and the mind.
Albert Einstein

I believe that every human mind feels pleasure in doing good to another.
Thomas Jefferson

I believe that every person is born with talent.
Maya Angelou

I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.
C. S. Lewis

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
Eleanor Roosevelt

30 Day Blog Challenge- Day 11 and GIRLS NIGHT!

Today's topic is 'Favorite TV Shows.' Get your morning coffee peeps, this could take me a while! I have a SICK obsession with my shows!

I told you it was SICK! 10 Shows, REALLY?! I need to GET A LIFE! I even left off all the 'Real Housewife' shows, JERSEY SHORE, Keeping Up with the Kardashians and Kourtney and Khloe take Miami. I dvr ALL of my shows, and watch them after the girls go to bed. I promise I'm not neglecting my children to watch all this trash, ha! If I had to narrow it down, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice and 90210 would be my top 3 favorites.

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On to another topic that makes me look like LESS of a loser, ha! Girls craft night was a blast Friday night. It was so fun to see how different every one's wreaths turned out. Everyone is creative in their different ways. If you had to guess, can you tell which one is mine?? With out cheating :) Jessica you should be proud I FINALLY uploaded the pictures ;)


1} This one was Melisa's friend Kristen's wreath. She said she wanted to go home and add some more sprays (beads on sticks)
2} My friend Carrie's wreath. I like how it turned out
3} Ashley's wreath. Hers was also cute.
4} Melisa's wreath. This girl cracks me up ya'll... when we went to get all of our supplies, she had all of her pieces laid out in a circle on the floor of hobby lobby to make sure she liked how it looked. Her job is in visual merchandising for Payless Corporate, so she's used to seeing everything in action first. She's always so neat and organized, maybe I need to do her job for a bit to help me out! HA!
5} This is MINE! Of course it had to have a little animal print on it, DUH! I don't LOVE how it turned out, but it will do I suppose.
6} This is Melisa's sister Wendy's wreath. I thought it turned out cute!
7} This is my friend Heather's, and my absolute FAVORITE! I think I might actually make another Christmas wreath, to look similar to this one.

Hope you all are having a great day so far, its ALMOST Friday, AND I get my hair done tonight! YAY! Good bye GREY, hello BROWN!

30 Day Blog Challenge- Day 10

The topic for today is 'Something You're Afraid Of.' I almost skipped today because it makes me a tad bit anxious to think of these things, but I figured if I wanted to participate I better just go for it.

My BIGGEST fear is outliving my children, hands down! I know its a fear that EVERY parent faces. You don't want to ever experience the heart ache of losing a child. Its also a fear of mine that something happens to my children that I can't fix. I know they will experience heart break, and everything won't go their way all the time. I just mean, something BIG happening, something medical or tragic. It opens up your eyes immensely when you start reading about all these families experiencing terrible loss, or terrible diseases taking over their children's bodies. Just breaks my heart!

I also have a huge fear of losing my parents. I know its going to happen one day, but hopefully not for a LONG, LONG time!

Ok I don't want to elaborate any more, I'll be in tears (ya'll have gotten the point that I'm emotional right?!)

What are YOU afraid of??

30 Day Blog Challenge- Day 9

Today's topic on the challenge is 'A Picture of Your Friends.' This one is EASY... I've got some of the greatest friends a girl could ever ask for!

Here is the most recent picture of us gals: Melisa, Heather, me, Tracy, Carrie and Ashley (minus Sheena, and another one of my besties, Kela)

Here is Sheena with her hubby, Macie and Makenna.

And here is a picture of Kela and I from my birthday 2 years ago

All of these girls are like family to me. Heather and I have been best friends since high school, and the rest of the girls and I, were connected through our church, or reconnected through my hubby. Some of my girlfriends I didn't have pictures of on my laptop (Katie, Jamie, Chelsey). All of these girls are like family to me, and I'm SO thankful that I get to call them my friends. There are always ups and downs in friendships, but that's what makes you stronger, and helps you build lasting relationships! Through the good and the bad (lets face it girls, when I became a stay at home mom, and now rarely get out of sweats, that's BAD ;)). I couldn't be more blessed to be walking this road of life with these girls.


Girls nights, couples date nights (PNO's, right Tracy?! ;)), late night texting about baby names, nights spent on our patio, shopping dates, daily emails, all of our kids calling each other 'Aunt,' life in general, wouldn't be the same with out you girls! Love you all!

Miscellany Monday (My first EVER)

I have read Carissa's blog for a long time, but for some reason have never participated in Miscellany Monday, until TODAY :) I think its fun to just have a 'random thoughts' post every now and then.

one) I recorded ALL of the episodes that were on of 'Sister Wives' last night while they were running a marathon. I fully intend to do nothing but lay on the couch and watch that show tonight after the girls go to bed.

two) I'm SO glad Halloween candy is in full force, I cannot get enough of candy corn.

three) This may be a small miracle but, yesterday we went to a fall craft festival in another town, and I DID NOT BUY A THING! That's right, NOTHING, NADA, ZILCH! You might want to mark that down in the record book!

four) I NEED want this necklace, like BAD! Gerrad has asked that I email him this necklace a few times now. I've given up hope, and am just going to purchase it for myself today I think :-) Its my 'because I feel like it' present to myself, HA!

five) I'm FINALLY getting my hair done on Thursday evening (Thanks Maria, you ROCK). The entire right top of my head by my bangs is slowly turning grey, THANKS DAD!

six) I found a new dress style that I'm going to add to my collection of products today. Can't wait to make one for Addaline and have her model it for a few pics!

seven) Gerrad is working out of town all week again this week. The week always seems to CRAWL by when he's gone. Thank goodness for DVR'd shows that I will be enjoying all week after bed time!

30 Day Blog Challenge- Day 8

Day 8 is 'A Place You've Traveled To.' It was hard to narrow it down to what trip I wanted to show you, we've been on a few trips that were just amazing!

We went to Ocho Rios, Jamaica last summer with a group of 10 people. We also went on a cruise to Mexico with these same friends in '07. Its so much fun to have a group of friends that you can travel with and have a great time. We stayed at the RIU resort in Ocho Rios, I would HIGHLY recommend that resort. We will DEFINITELY be taking another trip to it in the near future.

We climbed Dunns River Falls, I para sailed, we relaxed and just enjoyed the fact that we were on vacation, with NO responsibilities for a few days!

Every other year Gerrad and I try to take a vacation with out the kids. It really helps us stay connected as a couple, and the girls have a wonderful time pal-ing around with their grand parents! So far we don't have anything planned for next year, but hopefully we come up with something!!

What are your favorite vacation spots?

30 Day Blog Challenge- Day 7

The challenge for day 7 is 'Your Favorite Movies.' I could list LOTS of movies, but I narrowed it down to 7 for today. So here are some of my favorites, in no particular order...

This movie made me cry like a BABY! The sobbing, ugly crying (thank goodness Gerrad wasn't home when I watched it ;))

I'm fairly certain I've seen this movie 100 times. CRACKS ME UP!

When this movie first came out, I was slightly obsessed with it. I think we saw it in the theatre 3 times... I can recite the whole thing for the most part, LOVE IT!

One of my favorite 80's movies of all times!

Same with this one! A classic (to me, I was born in the 80's).

FUNNIEST.MOVIE.EVER. Enough said!

I'm a sucker for love stories, I just heart this movie!

What are some of your favorite movies? Can't wait to check them all out!

30 Day Blog Challenge- Day 6

Day 6 of the blog challenge is 'A picture of something that makes you happy.' You probably noticed that I skipped day 5, and you're right. It was about siblings, and that is kind of a touchy subject for me, so out of respect for my family, I decided to skip over it. Maybe one day I'll talk about it on here.

Anyway, back to day 6. I'm excited for this one, I knew exactly what photo I was going to use when I saw this topic....

I'm in LOVE with this photo. This was taken when we were on our summer vacation in Branson. These are 4 of some of my favorite girls (my niece and a few other sweet babies that weren't in the picture, excluded). The girls are all holding their hands up to feel the water coming out of these fountains down on Branson Landing. When I look at this photo, I see such innocence. It reminds me of the way we should all try to act more often, to stop and just enjoy the sun on our face (and the occasional water splash when its hot ;)).

Can't wait to see what all you ladies shared photos of! Hope you're all having a FABULOUS weekend!

Random

Bear with me gals, I felt like doing a random blog post about things I'm digging these days, I know you were all dying to know these things ;)

TLC's 'Sister Wives' show... I find it extremely interesting, and borderline mind boggling. How can 1 man be 'married' to 4 women is beyond me, and 16 kids between them all, REALLY dude?! They interviewed them on Oprah today, and I was GLUED to the TV. I have only seen 1 episode, and I probably looked funny watching it, with my jaw dropped to the floor the whole time. I decided to set up my DVR to record all the episodes that have been on. I guess I'm on a quest to learn more about these peeps. Weird? I do believe so!

It is IMPOSSIBLE to copy a photo off of Target's website, seriously! I wanted to show ya'll these super cute cowboy boots that I bought a few weeks ago (which I STILL haven't received in the mail). These will have to do as an 'example' I guess. The boots that I actually ordered are much taller than this, and super cute, slouched style like these, same color and all. If you like these short ones, they're from Payless.

I'm obsessed with making my 3 year old wear dresses and her cowboy boots all the time. I just LOVE having a little person I can dress up, who can't talk back to me and tell me what SHE wants to wear yet. Thank you Addaline :)
I purchased a Gold Canyon candle from one of Macie's friends for her soccer fundraiser, and I'm L.O.V.I.N.G. the scent, Mulled Cider. (Don't worry Tracy, I still love Scentsy too ;)) It is so strong and scents the whole house, YUM! I might cry when I burn it to the end!

I'm also in this huge phase of braiding my hair in a side pony all the time (even my husband noticed which never happens). I was SO proud of myself that I totally rocked this fish tail braid for the first time EVER! Its gonna be my new thing I think.

I SOOOO need to redo our basement. I'm thinking of going with this color scheme on the walls that are currently white in our basement. We've got a mixture of tan/white, and I'm over the white. I'm going to take EVERYTHING off the wall this weekend and try to brainstorm some ideas. Wish me luck. I'll probably dedicate an entire post to this topic, and ask you lovely ladies for some advice!

I'm BEYOND thankful for my hard working husband. He has been working out of town all week, and the girls and I are missing him like crazy. He usually works 4-10 hour days and has Friday's off, but this week he has to work on his day off. I can never express how thankful I am for him making the sacrifices that he does for our family! Love you babe!

This weekend we're having our girls night tomorrow night to craft, yay for wreath making! I'll make sure to take LOTS of pictures of everyone and their wreaths. The men/children are coming to our house to hang out and have daddy daycare while us gals get some 'mom's night out' time. Macie has a volleyball tournament Saturday. Her team is in FIRST place, and I couldn't be more proud of her. Saturday night we have NO plans, which I love, and Sunday we have church, and then we're going to a HUGE craft fair about 45 minutes away. Hopefully I'll get some more ideas of new products to add to my ever expanding business! Hope you lovely ladies have a wonderful Friday!!

30 Day Blog Challenge- Day 4

Today's topic on the 30 Day Blog Challenge is 'Your Parents.' This one should be fairly easy for me, but we'll see once I start typing!

*Lets start with my mom! She is my BEST friend. The person I call first when something good/bad or indifferent happens to me, or my kiddos, or even Gerrad. She is always there for me to complain to about things I probably shouldn't be complaining about in the first place. She doesn't ever judge, just listens, sometimes gives her opinion, and always understands. She'll tell me when I'm being silly or irrational, and she'll also tell me when I'm right (which is always, HA). The way she smiles when she sees my children, it melts my heart! It makes me excited to become a grandma one day (in 20+ years).

My mom is one of the most kind hearted, Godly women I know. Her and my dad definitely brought me up the right way, but somewhere along the way during the teenage years I had to rebel a little. I KNOW I wasn't easy to handle, but my mom was always there. I feel like I put her through the ringer, so many fights about her not letting me get my way when I was a snotty teenage brat! Did anyone else have one of those love/hate relationships with their mom as a teenager? Ya know when she wouldn't let you do what you wanted, and you thought the world revolved around you? I told her many times how much I hated her, instead of should have been hugging her and saying THANK YOU!

Sometimes I probably don't tell her how much I appreciate everything she does for me and my family enough, so mom if you're reading this, 'I love you THIS big much' with my arms stretched WAY out (and in my best Addaline voice) ;)


*Now onto my dad! My dad is also my best friend! I can't go a day or two with out talking to him, even if its just to call and tell him something silly that one of the girls did. I will ALWAYS have a special place in my heart for my dad, that no man will ever replace, not even my husband. I think most daddy's girls are this way. I read on another blog today that a girl was talking about the relationship between herself and her father (Hi Jessica :)) and she said 'My dad is wrapped around my finger, and he is wrapped around my heart'... that definitely describes my relationship with my dad!

He would give the shirt off his back for the girls and I, if we needed it. My daughters definitely have him wrapped around their little fingers, and it tickles me to pieces to see that. He has such a special bond with them, that I can't even begin to thank God enough for. My dad and Gerrad have a lot of similarities about them, and it is such a blessing to see lots of my dad's parenting style, in my children's father. I know you're reading this dad, and I LOVE YOU! I'm sure I don't say it often enough to you either, so here's your public shout out. Now would you pull my finger? HA!

*To my parents and Gerrad's parents... I cannot even BEGIN to describe how much it means to me to be able to see my children have such a special relationship with all of their grandparents. I didn't have that privilege growing up, and I'm so very thankful that my children DO! What I wouldn't have given to be able to go spend the night with a grandma and grandpa, and be spoiled rotten and shipped back home to my mom and dad. My kids have that option in 3 houses. Its such a blessing that we have so many family members that love and care about them, as much as we do. I know that they will FOREVER treasure all the moments that they spend with you all. So THANK YOU for just being there! We love you!

Now that I've poured my heart and soul out, and am a little weepy, I better get back to the kiddos ;)

30 Day Blog Challenge- Day 3

*Today's blog challenge over at Katie's Journey is 'Your First Love.' I'm guessing that quite a few people might talk about a first boyfriend, not here! A first pet, nope! My parents taught me how to love unconditionally and they sure did contribute, but that's not it either.

My first love is this sassy little girl pictured below... Sure I could put a sweet, posed picture, but this is her and all her glory, showing one of her MANY silly faces! I'm sure ya'll are thinking 'What about Gerrad?' Yes of course I love him with all my heart, but I truly believe I loved Macie before I even knew how to love Gerrad.

This child has taught me more than I would have ever imagined since finding out I was pregnant with her. She has taught me the TRUE meaning of unconditional love. She made me feel the kind of love, where you feel like your heart is outside your chest, beating for everyone to see. From the moment I laid eyes on her, I knew I was forever changed.

There are SO many times I feel like I don't deserve to be her mom. We are at a trying time in this stage of childhood that she is entering, and sometimes I feel like I'm so hard on her, and need to just slow down and appreciate the child that I have helped her to become so far. She is obedient, loving, sensitive (just like ME), out going, doesn't know a stranger, sees the good in everyone, naive to think the world is full of good (it makes me sad to know that when she hits the teen years, she'll find out differently), cries when I cry, loves dance and volleyball, enjoys picking fights with her little sister, is SUCH a little mother hen, sweet, beautiful, special 8 year old girl!

THANK YOU Macie, for teaching me what love is all about. For letting me make mistakes and loving me anyway, and for just being YOU! I'm the lucky one!

30 Day Blog Challenge- Day 2

Day 2 of the blog challenge over at Katie's Journey is to tell you all about 'The Meaning Behind my Blog Name.' Easy enough, I think....

When I first started blogging I changed the blog name a few times, annoying I'm sure. I started out with 'Keepin' Up with the Hall's' but didn't really like how that sounded after seeing that 755 other people had the same type of blog name. Then I decided that it would be called 'The Hall Monitor' and my catchy tag line would be 'Grab a pass and join us on this journey through life.' Then I no longer liked that name for whatever reason. So when I had my blog makeover done, I thought I needed to come up with a catchy name that would LAST. I realize that 'The Fuschia News' has nothing to do with our last name, but I thought it was super cute, since our house is highly outnumbered with estrogen, it seemed fitting. There isn't a huge meaning or story behind it to be quite honest, just the fact that we have 3 girls in this house, and EVERYTHING seems like its one shade of pink or another :) I just came up with the name, and it stuck. My poor husband doesn't stand a chance when these 2 girls hit the teen years (who am I kidding, I don't either!).

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I'd also like to keep up with blogging along with this challenge, so I'll just incorporate another blog post into this one, cool?!

This Friday night a bunch of us girls are getting together for a girls craft night. A while back I decided to make a fall wreath. I've gotten a few comments on it by my girl friends, so I figured, lets make a girls night out of it (any excuse to get together with the girls is OK with me). The guys and kiddos are coming to our house to hang out, and the gals are headed over to my girl friend Melisa's house to craft to our little hearts content.

Here is my wreath that I made. It was so simple, and only cost me about $15.00 to make. I got everything on sale between Hobby Lobby and Michael's. Friday night I'm going to make a Christmas wreath, and I also thought about making a Kansas Jayhawk wreath for football and basketball season, but I figured Gerrad might not appreciate that since he is a Texas Longhorns fan (BOO!).

30 Day Blog Challenge- Day 1

So I recently started reading Katie's blog, and decided to join in on the fun of her 30 day blog challenge. This should help me get back into the groove of blogging regularly again, right, RIGHT?! So I know day 1 is almost over, but I wanted to get my post done before tomorrow, better late than never, right?

Day 1: Introduce, recent picture, and 15 interesting facts

This is the most recent picture of me, taken this weekend at my 3 yr olds birthday party.

My name is Molly, I am a 27 year old, wife and mother to 2 beautiful girls. Macie who is 8, Addaline who is 3 (3, I can't get over saying she is 3, the tears will probably start flowing again if I think about it too much). I am a stay at home mom, and enjoy every minute of it. Being a mom is by far the greatest joy that God has given me, I am truly blessed, and thankful for every moment of every day (even the moments I want to pull my hair out ;)).

One: I'm SUCH a type A planner, its a little ridiculous. I can't stand when I don't know what is going on, or what is going to happen.

Two: I'm also a self proclaimed (my husband would totally second this statement as well) CONTROL FREAK *see number one*.

Three: After we had Macie, we swore up and down we were done having kids, then we did the same after Addaline... now we're teetering on the fence of POSSIBLY one more baby. It is all in God's hands, and I know He will guide and let us know if that is in the cards for us.

Four: I'm DEATHLY afraid of snakes and spiders. This is NO joke! We went to a predator zoo in Branson that housed a RIDICULOUS amount of snakes, and the ONLY reason I made it through, was because I was trying to act tough for the girls. I really would have MUCH rather balled up in the corner and cried, ha ha!

Five: I'm a people pleaser. I can't stand when people are mad at me, and I typically find myself putting everyone else's needs and feelings before my own. I know that's a good thing, but sometimes it stresses me out.

Six: I LOVE taking pictures. If I didn't have 700 other hobbies and business ventures, I'd totally take up photography.

Seven: I have this random annoyance with nicknames. I can't stand when people name their child something, and then refer to them as something else. Why wouldn't you just name your kid the nickname that you refer to them by? I'm all about cutesy pet names for my kiddos though (does that even make sense?!)

Eight: I'm addicted to Diet Dr Pepper

Nine: I'm also addicted to reality TV

Ten: I can't be far from my blackberry or I feel incomplete (I'm pathetic I know!)

Eleven: I talk to my parents daily!

Twelve: I am already praying for my daughters future husbands. I know its a little premature, but I figure if I get a good head start on it now, by the time they're 50, God will provide them with wonderful men to marry :-)

Thirteen: I think I'm the ONLY female on the planet with out a handbag obsession!

Fourteen: I'm obsessed with baby names.

Fifteen: I'm looking forward to meeting some new (and reconnecting with the old) blogger friends through this little adventure!

Thanks for stopping by!

Guess Who is 3???

September 27th, this little sass a frass, in all her glory, turned 3! Last night when we were eating dinner Gerrad said 'Is it me or has Addaline managed to grown up and turn into this big girl over the last few weeks?' What do you think I did? Any guesses? Yep you got it, I CRIED! My baby isn't a baby any more, and its hard for me to grasp for some reason. Now I know she'll always be my 2nd born 'baby,' who I have this ridiculous attachment to from the year I spent nursing her...but now she's a back talking, loud noise fearing, big sister loving, dirt admiring, mickey mouse theme song singing, grandparent scheming, 3 year old who doesn't need her mommy as much anymore, cute little independent girl!

We celebrated her birthday with friends and family this past Saturday at a local pumpkin patch, and let me tell you, it was a BLAST for all, especially the birthday girl and her cute little girl friends. Addaline's little boyfriend couldn't make it, looks like he would have been highly out numbered. The girls rode the train about 8,001 times, went down the inflatable slide a few times, ran, yelled, jumped and played to their little hearts content. Addaline was SO worn out from the day's events, that the poor girl went to bed at 7pm.


Here are a few shots from the party. This slide was the hit of the party, even our friend Carrie took her sweet little baby, Adelyn down the slide, it was a hoot!

Here are some of the girls on the train. I think this was the favorite attraction to all the little girls, especially the birthday girl- she rode it NO less than about 5-7 times!

Addaline just tickles me sometimes... when we were singing her Happy Birthday, she was singing right along, to herself! HA! She was SO sidetracked by the train while we were opening presents, that when we got home and put them all away, she acted like it was the FIRST time she had seen ANY of them. She is her father's child, to the T! Poor Macie's been cursed with being my clone, raging emotions and all (send reinforcements when the teen years hit please)!


Wish my husband would have reminded me to take off my sunglasses, then the pictures of me with the girls would have actually been cute, ha! The one with Gerrad and the girls turned out as cute as can be, and the one of Addaline making her usual face... ahhh... typical!

So happy belated birthday baby girl! SO glad you enjoyed your party! We love you more than you'll ever know!

Tag You're It!

Happy Thursday ya'll! I'm just thrilled that its almost the weekend. This weekend we have Addaline's birthday party (2 weeks late I'm aware :)), Macie's volleyball, and a night out with our friends to one of our favorite events, Laughing Matters. Did I already mention, I love weekends!

So Lindsey over at Lovin' My Life tagged me in a fun little question game. Thanks girl, its always fun to participate in these!

So here are the questions that Lindsey got to ask all the girls she tagged (great set of questions chica):


1. What is your dream car?

Brace yourself here folks, this is a SUPER fancy car (insert sarcasm here)...

A Chevy Tahoe... yep that's it! Not a BMW, or Mercedes... just a Chevy SUV

2. What is your favorite piece of jewelry you own?

My wedding ring, I never take it off!

3. If you could have a spending spree at any store where would it be?

I'd have to say Target.... You can pretty much get anything you need from there. They have adorable, affordable clothing and accessories, and don't even get me started on the shoes, ahhh! I'm such a thrifty mom that I said I would want a shopping spree at TARGET, really Molly?!

4. Would you rather watch reality tv or scripted tv?

I have a SICK obsession with both, so this is super hard for me to choose. I LOVE my scripted shows- 90210, Vampire Diaries, Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice... BUT I also LOVE Jersey Shore, Any Real Housewives (minus D.C.), Teen Mom (I'm sick I know). So I guess this one ends in a tie for me.

5. What is your after work/school snack?

Since I'm home all day, this is one of my biggest weaknesses... snacking all day. I have been trying to not buy many snack foods, so I don't eat them. Wish me luck on this venture!

6. Would you rather have a good hair day or an awesome outfit?

Probably an awesome outfit. I think you can make your hair look even just OK, if you have a rockin' outfit. I may be way off here to the fashionista's, but I'm a mom who stays in sweats 75% of the time.

7. What is your dream ideal job?

I already have my dream job, its being a MOM! But... if I had to pick another dream job, it would be to own my own BABY BOUTIQUE! Hopefully some day soon that will all happen. I just keep praying about it, and if its meant to be, God will reveal the plan to me.

8. Why did you start blogging?

Since I became a stay at home mom a year ago... I wanted to start blogging quite a bit more, which worked well for quite a while, lately I've been slacking. Hopefully I'm back for good. I think blogging is a super fun way to have a record of the things that were going on at certain points in the girls' lives. I plan to have my blog made into a fun little scrapbook over the years. Its also fun to share things with friends and family that we may not see all the time.

I'd love to tag some of my favorite blogger gals...

Candice at The Perfect Pair

Aly at Analyze This

Caroline at Oh Pickles

Molly at Stilettos and Diapers

Summer at Summer's Story

Sarah at The Sparks Plugs

I've gotta run and pick up Addaline from preschool so I'll let you gals answer the same questions that I did!

Have a GREAT Thursday everyone!

BB Courtney's Baby Shower

This past Saturday, I helped throw a baby shower for one of my best friends, Melisa. She is due to have another sweet little baby girl, December 12th. There were 4 of us girls who threw the shower, and I think it turned out wonderfully! Melisa got TONS of cute stuff for BB Courtney, and big sister Makenna got lots of adorable gifts as well. She was the guest of honor, and the only kiddo at the shower, so she got to feel extra special that day.

We played lots of fun games (I'm not usually big on games, but these ones were pretty cute).. We played a celebrity mom game where we pinned a photo of a celebrity mom on every ones back when they came in the door, the object of the game was to get people chatting, and try to guess which celebrity mom was on their back by asking YES or NO questions. We also played a music game to guess the song names, and artists of songs with BABY in the title. So much work and love went into this shower, we're all SO excited to meet the newest addition to the Courtney family :)




The adorable cupcakes and cupcake picks that were made. Melisa's nursery accent theme is Owls, so we centered the shower around her colors (hot pink, black, white) and the owl theme.

The clothes line that turned out SO cute!

The girls even made water bottle labels for this special day!

The mommy to be, and big sister!



This was the SWEETEST card from Makenna to her baby sister, made most of us mommy's tear up!

The hostesses with the mommy to be: Carla, Jenni, Melisa, Me and Tracy!

Thanks Mel for letting me be a part of your special day! We cannot wait to meet this sweet girl!